Sexual Assaults at Schools: Vol. 110

Sexual Assaults at Schools

The New School Year has just begun or will for many school districts. Please take a moment to make sure our students are not only safe from an Active Shooter but from Sexual Harassment or Sexual Assault at school.

Are our children safe at school? With all the emphasis in Violence Prevention focused on the School Shooters, it is sometimes easy to forget how many students are left wounded by sexual assaults. After a 10 year-old was raped as she waited for her bus, a brief search revealed that this was not an isolated event. Many of the incidents discovered and reported here happened earlier with many coming to light later and some NEVER. The results listed here remains incomplete. It is obvious that sexual assaults at schools go unreported, under-reported, delayed and sometimes reported as something else. If you know of a sexual assault at a school, please let Keys know via email. Please provide as much detail as possible and reference any mention in the media. Here is the short list:

01/29/14

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas — An 18-year-old Connally High School student is being sought after police say he sexually assaulted a classmate in the school’s auditorium in January, an arrest warrant said. The girl told police she received a text message from alleged male on Jan. 14 asking her to meet him in the Performing Arts Center. After meeting the alleged male in the balcony, the girl said he attempted to kiss and touch her body before forcing her to the ground, the document said. The alleged male then held the girl down and covered her mouth while sexually assaulting the girl, according to the affidavit. The alleged male was arrested.

02/06/14

PICKENS COUNTY, GA – An 18-year-old Pickens High School student has been charged with statutory rape after police said he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old student. Later that week, the Pickens Sheriff’s Office responded to the school regarding a possible sexual assault. When deputies arrived, they learned a 15-year-old student had informed a teacher she had been assaulted at the school. During the investigation, it was determined that the event occurred on school property but after school hours. Investigators were able to quickly identify the suspect and arrested him.

03/03/14

HERCULES, CA — On a campus already beset by claims of bullying and sexual harassment, a Hercules High School transgender student told police he was assaulted by three boys Monday while exercising his right under a controversial new law to use a bathroom that matched his gender identity. The attack was the second altercation involving a transgender student on the campus during this school year and came only days after an overwhelming teachers’ vote of no-confidence in the school’s principal, partially spurred by complaints of a lack of safety on campus that had led to fights and arrests. In the latest incident, a 15-year-old transgender male student told police he was leaving the bathroom in the 300 building at around 11 a.m. when the three suspects pushed him inside a bathroom stall and physically and sexually assaulted him.

08/01/14

CONCORD, N.H. — Just weeks after graduating from a prestigious boarding school in Concord, an 18-year-old is facing felony sex assault charges, and according to newly unsealed court paperwork, police said the crime took place on the St. Paul’s School campus. Owen LaBrie turned himself in to police on July 16, but court documents said the reported assault took place in May. A 15-year-old freshman told police that she had received a “senior salute” from LaBrie. A school counselor described a “senior salute” to police as “a horrible tradition at the boarding school in which a senior emails a younger student regarding a ‘conquest’ before they graduate.”

11/03/10

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The principal of the cheerleader’s Forest Hills Central High School “discouraged the student and her parents from filing charges” and failed to “investigate the assault and protect the student” when she reported it to higher-ups. The victim dropped out of sports teams, spent two weeks in the counselor’s office to avoid attending class with her attacker, and ultimately transferred schools to get away from cyber-bullying from other students. Her attacker was eventually sentenced to the county’s Adolescent Sexual Offender Treatment Program (his second appearance), but not before he assaulted another girl at the school. See Mandated Reporters

01/25/07

ROGERS, AR — A 10-year-old girl was abducted and raped on Eastside Elementary School campus. It happened at about 7 am as the girl waited for a connecting bus to her school, Old Wire Elementary about a mile away. The school where the rape occurred does not open until 7:15 am when teachers arrive for duty.

01/25/07

Hartford, CT – A 16 year-old student was grabbed near the tennis courts at about 11 am. She was sexually assaulted and dropped off in the city. She was acquainted with her attacker. Police and Hartford School District officials report the victim was very helpful and specific in her description of the attacker and the car she was in.

01/29/07

Barrie, ON – A 17 year old male is accused of raping or sexually assaulting 11 girls at Bear Creek high school in Barrie. Eight girls in grade 9 testified that he forced them into oral sex, or intercourse. Most of the attacks occurred in the woods behind the school.

One of the victims said “I don’t know if I ever would have gone to police if I knew it would be dragged out like this, It’s humiliating.”

01/30/07

Fort Collins, CO – A 48-year-old band teacher turned himself into the Loveland Police Department today after being arrested for sexual assault on a child by a person of trust. He is alleged to have had a sexual relationship with a 17 year-old student.

01/31/07

San Antonio, TX — A 1st grader at DeZavala Elementary School told school officials he was raped in a school bathroom on January 12th. The San Antonio School District and Texas Rangers released a sketch of the man they believe may have sexually assaulted a child at an elementary school. The man has a dark complexion, is average height with a thin build and salt and pepper hair. He is also said to be Spanish speaking.

01/31/07

Colorado Springs, CO – A 30 year-old former teacher at Brighton Charter has surrendered for violating a court order. She is accused of having sexual contact with a student, then violated a court order by allegedly contacting the victim.

01/31/07

MISSION, CA — A 16 year old student was the victim of a violent sexual assault at the hands of a school district computer technician. The two “met” in an internet chat room that eventually led to a real meeting and a sexual relationship that lasted almost two years until its violent end this week. Police believe the suspect is a sexual predator who spent a great deal of time in enticing the student. He has been suspended by the School District pending an internal investigation.

02/01/07

BLACKSTONE, MA – A Blackstone teacher has been suspended with pay for more than two weeks after being charged with statutory rape. The 38 year-old 8th grade English teacher is charged with three counts of statutory rape of a child, two counts of indecent assault and battery of a child under 14 and three counts of indecent assault and battery of a person 14 or over. Court records were sealed to protect the identity of victims and details of the alleged crimes. The school district superintendent notified parents of the teachers suspension pending court proceedings.

02/01/07

KNOXVILLE, TN – Federal Investigators have arrested a high school umpire and referee on charges of sexually assaulting children and possession of child pornography. Court documents reveal that the suspect has been a Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association official for about five years and that he has confessed to sexual contact with children. His confession includes sexually assaulting a child while on camera then posting the assault to world wide web. The investigation revealed that he has served time in Colorado for sexually assaulting three 11 year-old boys. He lives within a half mile of an elementary school.

02/02/07

Saugus, MA — A Saugus High School junior was recuperating at a local hospital after ingesting the date rape drug and collapsing in class. A 17-year-old classmate was later arrested by and charged with several drug offenses and attempted poisoning. Details as to how the drug was given or the intentions of the offender were not available.

02/02/07

Groveton, TX – A 17 year-old and two 15 year-old male students at Groveton High School have been charged with aggravated sexual assault. They are accused of taking a 13 year-old student into the school’s field house where they assaulted her. The younger boys told police that the girl wanted to have sex.

02/02/07

Urbana, IL – A 2nd grade teacher was arrested on charges of sexual abuse of his students. Three 2nd grade girls were blindfolded and played sexual games with their male teacher. – Urbana schools Superintendent Gene Amberg said the district will look for ways to strengthen its hiring process. He said he expects the district to be sued over the incidents.
“I am responsible. The buck does stop here. There’s no question about it,” he said in an interview Friday afternoon. Another school where he previously taught has decided not to notify parents stating that they never received any complaints while he taught there.

02/03/07

ALLENTOWN, PA — A couple say their six-year-old son was raped by a disturbed older student at an elementary school, and that school officials failed to help him afterward. Their federal lawsuit states that the 12-year-old suspect raped four first-grade boys in 2003 and 2004 before he was charged and sent to a juvenile facility. The couple, who filed a John Doe suit to protect their son’s identity, charges that the Allentown School District was indifferent to the rape on the day it happened and in the months afterward. They say they only learned of it when their son told them at dismissal time, and that he pointed out the attacker. The family is seeking 15 million dollars in damages. See Mandated Reporters

The district wants a federal judge to dismiss the suit, arguing that federal law does not require schools to protect their students.

02/03/07

CHATTANOOGA, TN — A female school bus driver has been charged on accusation that she had sex with a teenage boy in Chattanooga. The bus driver was 30 and the male student 15 at the time of the alleged sexual misconduct. The investigation was initiated when a student informed the School Resource Officer of the incident.

02/03/07

LOUISVILLE, KY – A Meyzeek Middle School student was pulled into an alley and raped just a block from the school. The student had just gotten off a public transportation bus and was walking the short distance to school. Surveillance tapes from the bus show a man following the student that police want to speak with. He is called a person of interest.

02/03/07

Decatur, AL — A student at Calhoun Community College was sexually assaulted on campus while walking to class. The administration decided not to notify the student body because they could not identify the suspect. The victim saw her attacker at the campus library the next day and reported to police. Defending their decision not to notify students, an administration official said that the victim was not being very cooperative.

02/04/07

Kirkland, WA – A junior ed special ed para-educator has filed a complaint with the police alleging that a 13 year-old student sexually and physically assaulted her in the school. According to her complaint, she informed school officials but was told that she provoked the student’s attack. Officials at the school and at the district have refused comment citing privacy issues either with Special Ed or with personnel regulations.

02/05/07

GROVE CITY, PA – Personnel from Grove City High School became concerned about a student and reported their concerns to police. After an investigation, a 44 year-old Grove City man was arrested Friday on charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse related to persons less than 13 years of age and less than 16 years, aggravated indecent assault of juvenile and those less than 13 years of age, sexual abuse of children involving video recording of sexual acts and possessing child pornography and indecent assault.

02/05/07

Israel — The head of the Education Ministry, called Sunday for the permanent suspension of students who are guilty of sexual assault. The Education Ministry is expected to approve the suggestion. Under the proposed change in rules, any student found guilty of sexually assaulting a fellow student can be expelled from school. Under the current rules, a student who assaults another student can be suspended for a maximum of four days.

02/05/07

Edmonton, Alberta — A 23-year-old man has been arrested for assaulting a child last month in Victoria School and a similar incident downtown. The suspect has been charged with aggravated sexual assault, choking to overcome resistance, uttering death threats, sexual interference, assault, sexual assault and two counts of unlawful confinement. He made his first court appearance this morning.

Sexual Assaults at school appear to be too common and happen too often. Has your school done all it can to provide a safer and secure learning environment for students and staff? If you have any questions or would like training or an outside review of policy and procedures, please contact Keys today for assistance.

Some schools and university are having a Signing Day to pledge against Sexual Violence.

For more details or to engage an Expert Consultant call or email Keys today.